CN113895931A - Method and device for buffering containers - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for buffering containers in a container processing system is described. Accordingly, the containers are grouped in individual rows in a container treatment system, in particular a filling system, wherein the containers are fed in storage on at least one feed conveyor in a feed direction, are moved in individual rows in a buffer direction transverse to the feed direction on laterally adjacent buffer zones by a shuttle guided by rails and driven individually with row pushers, and are discharged on at least one discharge conveyor laterally adjacent in the buffer direction. Since the shuttle, the infeed conveyor and the outfeed conveyor are controlled according to the target positions, target speeds and/or target accelerations/target decelerations stored specifically for the format and/or material of the containers and/or the target positions, target distances and/or target speeds stored specifically for the initialization of the shuttle, in particular for the reading of the shuttle, for the following of the preceding shuttle and for the operating mode of the movement to the route position, the control movement pattern in the area of the infeed conveyor, the outfeed conveyor and the buffer zone is optimized for different types of containers and respective operating modes.

Description

Method and device for buffering containers

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for buffering containers in a container handling system according to the preamble of schemes 1 and 12, respectively.

Background

A general method and a general apparatus are known from DE 102018211859a 1. In this way, a single-row group of containers, for example beverage bottles, can be pushed through the buffer without back pressure by means of a row pusher (row pusher). Connected to a container feeder and a container discharger, both oriented transversely to the cushioning direction, whereby the following cushioning device is obtained: it may buffer the container stream with efficient use of space, e.g. according to a first-in-first-out principle.

However, the adaptability of the method and the device to different types of containers and the optimization with respect to different operating states has proven to be particularly problematic, for example, when initializing the transport system, when moving to various route positions on the transport system and/or during the following operation of various shuttles (shuttles) which follow the preceding shuttles in an automated manner at a distance from one another. For example, it is desirable that the sequence of movement of the shuttles present in the infeed and/or outfeed conveyors, in particular in the acceleration and/or deceleration ramps of the conveyors, is adapted to the type of containers to be processed, so that firstly the processing of the warehousing (entry store), buffering (buffering) and ex-warehouse (removal from store) can be carried out as quickly as possible, and secondly the containers can be protected from damage and from tipping over.

Disclosure of Invention

The above object is met by a method according to scheme 1 and an apparatus according to scheme 12.

The method is used for buffering containers grouped in a single file in a container handling system, in particular in a filling system. For this purpose, the containers are warehoused on at least one infeed conveyor in an infeed direction, moved in a single row in a buffer zone adjoining laterally (i.e. in a state of maintaining spatial separation between the rows of containers) in a buffer direction extending transversely to the infeed direction by a shuttle guided by rails and driven individually with row pushers, and are warehoused on at least one outfeed conveyor adjoining laterally in the buffer direction.

According to the invention, the shuttle, the infeed conveyor and the outfeed conveyor are controlled according to a target position, a target speed and/or a target acceleration specific to the format (format) and/or material storage of the containers. Additionally or alternatively, the shuttle is controlled according to a target position, a target distance and/or a target speed stored specifically for initialization for, in particular, reading the shuttle, for following a preceding shuttle and for moving to a route position.

In this way, the motion profiles of the shuttle, infeed conveyor and outfeed conveyor may be optimized so that containers are moved to their respective target positions as quickly as possible during warehousing, buffering and ex-warehouse operations, while at the same time, unacceptable back pressure of the containers and/or tipping of the containers may be prevented. For example, the tilting behavior of various types of containers may differ from each other, and thus when warehousing, buffering, and ex-warehouse, various types of containers may accelerate/decelerate at different speeds before the risk of the container tipping over becomes too great. Thus, the acceleration and deceleration ramps of the infeed and outfeed conveyors may be optimized according to the respective type of container, as may the associated maximum container speed.

The shuttle is preferably controlled by an open-loop master controller at a higher level for specifying movement parameters of the shuttle, such as a target position, a target speed and/or a target deceleration, and a closed-loop slave controller at a lower level for effecting closed-loop control of the drive of the shuttle on the shuttle, based on the parameterization performed in this way by the open-loop master controller.

Preferably, the maximum value of deceleration and/or acceleration and/or speed of the infeed conveyor and/or the outfeed conveyor and/or the shuttle is calculated from at least one of the following parameters specific to the type of containers to be processed and stored retrievably for a specific type of container: said parameters are height, weight, center of gravity, angle of inclination, material, envelope, basic geometry, nominal filling level and/or material of a container of this type. The calculation and/or the retrieval of the maximum value is performed taking into account in particular at least one friction coefficient of the infeed conveyor, the outfeed conveyor, the buffer zone, the conveyor upstream of the infeed conveyor and/or the conveyor downstream of the outfeed conveyor.

The motion profile of the shuttle and/or of the infeed and/or outfeed conveyors (in particular their acceleration and/or deceleration ramps) can be specifically optimized for the characteristics of the containers and/or for the conveying surfaces involved, for example, in the infeed conveyor, in the outfeed conveyor and in the buffer zone.

Such optimization may be performed, for example, when the method is first performed/when the associated device is put into operation, as well as during ongoing format change operations, after maintenance measures, etc.

The movement profile of the containers during the loading, buffering and unloading can be adapted flexibly and, if necessary, dynamically to the characteristics of the containers and the infeed/outfeed conveyor/buffer zone.

The value of the parameter for calculating said maximum value is preferably determined using a measured value of said container retrieved from a database according to container characteristics for a respective container type in said container processing system and/or based on a statistical evaluation of the processing results for containers of that type in a previously used container processing system.

The movement profile of the containers during warehousing, buffering and ex-warehouse can therefore be optimized both specifically for the respective buffer device and on the basis of unspecified data in this respect and/or experience obtained with comparable container handling systems.

For example, as the number of buffer devices in operation or container handling systems equipped with buffer devices increases, the parameterized data for the motion profile can be specified more accurately on a statistical basis, thereby increasing the information value of the basic calculations that have been made, for example, during initial operation.

The target positions, the target speeds, the target accelerations and/or the target decelerations of the shuttles, the infeed conveyors and the outfeed conveyors are preferably determined based on the calculated maximum values and are in particular compared with target positions, target speeds, target accelerations and/or target decelerations for the containers in the upstream and/or downstream transport routes of the containers and/or in the distribution units.

Thus, considering the maximum and optimizing the performance of warehousing, buffering and ex-warehousing, the feasible motion profile of the containers can be adapted to different types of containers and/or different operating modes.

Comparing the target values determined in this way with the corresponding target values of the upstream and/or downstream transport routes/distribution units makes it possible to check the plausibility of the determined motion profile and to prevent a punctual overactivity and/or undercapacity (functional overactivity and/or undercapacity) in connection with the processing units of the upstream and/or downstream connected container processing systems. Warehousing, buffering, and ex-warehousing of containers may accommodate, for example, a machine block (machine block) configured upstream for producing, filling, and servicing containers and at least one packaging machine and/or order sorting system configured downstream. In this way, the container flow can be flexibly adapted to the required production capacity in the sense of uniform and continuous production by electronic control of warehousing, buffering and ex-warehouse.

The difference between the target speed, the target acceleration and/or the target deceleration determined for the shuttle, the infeed conveyor and/or the outfeed conveyor and the target speed, the target acceleration and/or the target deceleration in the upstream and/or downstream transport route and/or in the distribution unit is preferably reduced and in particular minimized by an adaptation specifically to the respective type of container.

Thus, a surplus of capacity in the performance of the individual method steps or the used device components can be prevented within the buffer device and in the interaction with the upstream/downstream transport lines, the distribution unit and/or the processing unit. For example, safety reserves which are not required in terms of mechanical requirements, supply power, space requirements and/or media consumption can be reduced in this way, in order to minimize the production costs as well as the operating costs as a result.

The method and apparatus may be specifically adapted to certain processes of filling cargo and/or container formats and be successively optimized, for example, on the basis of databases that are continually refined through statistical analysis of individual bulk cargo and/or container formats.

The shuttles preferably themselves adjust their speed and/or distance from each other and/or movement towards the target position specified for the shuttle in accordance with the operational state transmitted to the shuttle by the open loop master controller in a decentralized (decentralized) manner. The operating states include: at least one automatic initialization operation to move to a route zero point and/or assign an identification/address to the shuttle, a following operation to move the shuttle forward in an automatic manner behind a preceding shuttle, and a positioning operation to move to a target position specified by the open-loop main controller in terms of an absolute route position.

The shuttle is thus adapted to the specific operating situation and control task, even in different operating states. For this purpose, each shuttle comprises an independent closed-loop control or the like in the sense of a controller for adjusting the predetermined movement pattern/travel profile of the shuttle.

For example, the shuttles may independently verify what the actual route location and/or actual distance from the shuttle traveling ahead they are and adapt to these actual values by independently adjusting the respective target values specified by the open-loop master controller.

During the initial operation and/or after a predetermined number of buffer cycles, in particular after each buffer cycle, at one target location the shuttle preferably switches to an initialization operation in which: the shuttle is zeroed relative to the route zero and/or assigned an identification by the open loop master controller. Thus, the shuttle may independently determine the route position of the shuttle relative to the zero point and for example compare the route position of the shuttle relative to the zero point with the route positions of the other shuttles determined in this way, in particular for distance adjustment relative to the shuttle previously running.

The shuttles for each buffer cycle may then be named regardless of their previous history, thereby being flexibly arranged in the shuttle sequence. For example, each shuttle may be integrated into the sequence for the next buffer cycle from an empty shuttle buffer prior to initialization, e.g., following maintenance measures and/or balancing buffer capacity according to the number of shuttles required for the next buffer cycle. For example, worn or defective shuttles may be ejected and/or introduced at the track switches.

Due to the initialization/naming and starting position of the shuttles, the operations of warehousing, buffering and ex-warehousing in the next buffering cycle are substantially independent of the number and manufacturing identification of the shuttles. Thus, the shuttles can be interchanged as needed and receive an electronic identification suitable for the next buffer cycle by initialization. In this way, warehousing, buffering, and ex-warehousing may be independent of shuttles present in the respective buffering devices. In other words, the production operation may continue to run as shuttles are removed and/or added, or no recombination work is required for subsequent control of the process and apparatus.

In the initialization operation, information about the operation time and/or distance traveled by each shuttle and/or wear indications for each shuttle is preferably exchanged between the shuttles and the open loop master controller. In this regard, the shuttle is thus read, for example, at an initialization station, and the associated data is transmitted to the open loop master controller.

For example, the travel distances and/or the operating times of the individual shuttles may be added, and on this basis advance fault detection is performed as predictively as possible, in order to prevent production shutdowns due to shuttle faults.

Furthermore, for example, vibration sensors on the rails of the transport system may be used to obtain information about the wear state of the individual chassis rollers of the shuttle in order to draw conclusions about the wear state of the respective shuttle. Such condition monitoring may also be performed on other transport mechanisms, such as the infeed conveyor, bearings of the outfeed conveyor, etc. For example, wear of roller bearings present on the gears may be monitored.

Further, for example, the drive current of each shuttle and/or infeed conveyor and/or outfeed conveyor may be monitored and compared to the respective initial/delivery status in order to draw conclusions regarding any wear on the respective drive.

In this context, it is also possible, for example, to monitor the respective quality of the data transmission (in terms of minimum and maximum transmission rates) in order to draw conclusions about the wear of the electrical sliding rail and/or sliding collector or similar electrical contacts. Maintenance cycles, for example for electrical contacts, mechanical roller bearings and/or running surfaces, can be determined therefrom.

In an initialization operation, the open loop main controller preferably also issues operator recommendations to remove shuttles from the transport system that have been identified as worn or defective and/or to trigger automatic ejection of such shuttles. This minimizes production downtime even when individual shuttles are ejected/removed, and production operations can continue unimpeded due to the automatic position zeroing and assignment of electronic identifications/addresses to the shuttles.

The open-loop master controller preferably transmits shuttle target positions to the closed-loop slave controllers, the shuttle target positions being dependent on the operating state and/or fault state and/or container characteristics for initiating or exiting follow-up operations, in particular continuously adjusting the target positions as the operating state, fault state and/or container characteristics change.

Thus, the shuttle may switch to the follow-up operation in a selective manner, e.g. depending on the degree of buffer filling, and may e.g. continue the follow-up operation until the shuttle reaches the outfeed area. The shuttle may then move relatively quickly and continuously across the buffer until the follow operation begins. The same applies to the return of an empty shuttle to the part of the transport system designed as an empty shuttle buffer or to a shuttle moved forward there.

Preferably, the open-loop master controller preferably transmits to the closed-loop slave controller a shuttle target position and/or a target position for a route position to be moved to in a positioning operation, depending on an operating state and/or a fault state and/or container characteristics for starting or exiting the positioning operation. The target position is there preferably constantly adapted to changes in the operating state, fault state and/or container properties.

Thus, during warehousing and/or ex-warehouse, each route position may be selectively accessible to the corresponding route position, for example depending on the respective container format and the size of the column pusher in the buffering direction that may be adapted thereto. For example, certain target locations may also be specified for shuttles identified as worn or defective in order to eject the shuttle from the transport system in a selective manner. Certain route locations may also be specified in order to park the shuttle in the appropriate route location in the event of an emergency stop.

The device is used for buffering containers grouped in single file in a container processing system, in particular in a filling system. The device includes: a feeding area having at least one feeding conveyor; an outfeed area having at least one outfeed conveyor belt; a buffer zone extending laterally in a buffer direction between the feed zone and the discharge zone; and a transport system, which is arranged above the buffer zone, comprising shuttles which are guided on rails and which are driven independently of one another, which shuttles have column pushers which are arranged transversely to the buffer direction and which appear in particular in pairs for moving individual columns of the containers from the infeed region to the outfeed region in the buffer zone.

According to the invention, the apparatus comprises a control system for controlling the shuttle, the infeed conveyor and the outfeed conveyor according to a target position, a target speed and/or a target acceleration stored specifically for the format and/or material of the containers. Additionally or alternatively, the control system is configured for controlling the shuttle in accordance with a target position, a target distance and/or a target speed stored specifically for an initialization for, in particular, reading the shuttle, for following a preceding shuttle and for an operation mode of moving to a route position.

The advantages described in connection with scheme 1 can thereby be obtained.

The control system preferably comprises: a closed loop slave controller configured to the shuttle for a drive of the shuttle; and an open-loop master controller for parameterization of the closed-loop slave controller for an operating mode dedicated to an operating state including at least one of an auto-initialization operation for moving to a route zero point and/or assigning an electronic identification/address to the shuttle, a following operation for moving the shuttle forward in an automatic manner behind a preceding shuttle, and a positioning operation for moving to a route position specified by the open-loop master controller.

The advantages described in connection with scheme 6 can thereby be obtained.

The device preferably also comprises an initialization station arranged in the region of the transport system for zeroing the position of the shuttles and/or for assigning electronic identifications issued by the open-loop master controller to the shuttles and/or for reading the operating times and/or travel routes performed by the respective shuttles and/or for reading wear indications for the respective shuttles of the open-loop master controller.

Thus, regardless of the previous history of the individual shuttles, for example during initial installation, after a predetermined number of buffer cycles, in particular after individual buffer cycles, the shuttles may be integrated into the shuttle sequence required for the next buffer cycle, or they may also be ejected from the shuttle sequence in dependence on the degree of wear or defects and thus ejected from the transport system and returned after maintenance. The wear indication may also be transmitted to an open loop main controller for early fault detection and for avoiding production downtime due to defects.

The column pusher preferably comprises a guide channel extending transversely to the buffering direction and defined along both the buffering direction and the opposite direction of the buffering direction for receiving the containers in respective single columns. Thus, the containers can be moved in the buffer zones respectively in single rows separated from each other and fixed to prevent tipping over in the guide channel both in the buffer direction and in the opposite direction of the buffer direction.

This makes it possible to specify relatively steep acceleration ramps and deceleration ramps in the damping direction. During the storage and removal, the containers travel in the guide channel substantially transversely to the buffer direction.

The control system is in particular configured to perform the open-loop/closed-loop control functions described in relation to the method, and for this purpose comprises the open-loop master controller and a closed-loop slave controller formed on the shuttle for performing/controlling the independent driving operation of the shuttle on the basis of a parameterization by the open-loop master controller.

For example, the control system may comprise a processing unit for determining the maximum value of deceleration and/or acceleration and/or speed of the infeed conveyor and/or the outfeed conveyor, depending on at least one of the following parameters, specific to the type of containers to be processed: height, weight, center of gravity, inclination angle, material, envelope, basic geometry, nominal filling level and/or container material, wherein in particular the friction coefficient of the infeed conveyor, the outfeed conveyor, the buffer zone, the conveyor upstream of the infeed conveyor and/or the conveyor downstream of the outfeed conveyor is stored in the processing unit or in an associated data storage.

The open loop master controller may thus for example itself comprise a respective memory for storing such parameter values and/or be connected to a database for retrieving such parameter values. In addition, the processing unit may perform statistical evaluation relating to parameter values obtained from previous operations of comparable device/container processing systems.

The open-loop master controller may comprise, for example, associated input and output units, e.g., human-machine interfaces (such as touch screens, etc.), on which associated parameters may be viewed and/or input.

Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which,

fig. 1 shows a schematic top view of the device;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the device;

FIG. 3 shows the motion profile of the shuttle as it cycles over the transport system;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a control system; and

fig. 5 is a schematic illustration of determining a motion parameter.

Detailed Description

As can be seen in fig. 1 and 2, the device 1 for buffering containers 2/container trains 2a grouped in a single train comprises a substantially horizontal and stationary buffer zone 3 and a conveyor system 4 arranged above the buffer zone 3 for moving the containers 2/container trains 2a on the buffer zone 3 in a buffering direction PR from an infeed area 5 with at least one infeed conveyor 5a to an outfeed area 6 with at least one outfeed conveyor 6 a. The container 2 is, for example, a bottle.

At least one infeed conveyor belt 5a runs in an infeed direction ER and an outfeed conveyor belt 6a runs in an outfeed direction AR, each transverse, in particular orthogonal, to the buffer direction PR of the conveyor system 4.

The transport system 4 includes an independently driven shuttle 7 and a rail 8 configured as a closed circulation path along which the shuttle 7 runs.

In this respect, the shuttle 7 preferably comprises at least one forward (viewed in the buffering direction PR) column pusher 9 and one rearward column pusher 10. However, each shuttle 7 may also comprise only one of the column pushers 9, 10.

The column pushers 9, 10 arranged in series in the buffer direction on the shuttle 7 may also be regarded as a pair of column pushers. The column pushers 9, 10 are each configured to receive a single column of containers 2, i.e. each column of containers 2a spatially separated in the buffer direction PR, and are oriented transversely, in particular orthogonally, to the buffer direction PR. The column pusher 9, 10 can thus also be regarded as buffer lines for each group of containers 2a that are movable in the buffer direction PR and spatially separated from each other.

The row pushers 9, 10 are configured for respective front-to-back guidance of the containers 2 grouped in a single row and therefore for guidance of the containers 2 in a buffering direction PR (i.e. the containers 2 advance in the buffering direction PR, for example, when advancing at an acceleration) and in a direction opposite to the buffering direction PR (in particular, when advancing at a deceleration).

For this purpose, the column pushers 9, 10 comprise respectively a front column guide 9a, 10a for guiding the containers 2 and a rear column guide 9b, 10b for trailing containers 2, and guide channels 9c, 10c defined by them for receiving and guiding the container 2/each container column 2a on both sides. The post-column guide 9b and the pre-column guide 10a may be formed to be fixedly disposed on the shuttle 7 with respect to each other or may be formed integrally.

The column pushers 9, 10 or their guide channels 9c, 10c have a clear width 11 defined between the pre-column guides 9a, 10a and the post-column guides 9b, 10b, respectively, the clear width 11 being preferably adaptable to the respective container width/the respective container diameter (not shown).

Each shuttle 7 comprises a drive 12 for individual movement along the track 8 and an individual closed-loop slave controller 13 (shown in figure 1 only in a separate region of the shuttle 7 for clarity), the closed-loop slave controller 13 being parameterised by an open-loop master controller 14 present in the apparatus 1, and on the basis of which the closed-loop slave controller 13 is configured for autonomous closed-loop control of the associated drive 12.

The open-loop master controller 14 and the closed-loop slave controller 13 are parts of a control system 15, which control system 15 may for example comprise further units (not shown) for controlling the infeed and outfeed conveyors 5a, 6 a.

The control system 15 preferably also comprises an initialization station 16 arranged in the region of the conveying device 4. As can be seen from fig. 2, in this regard, the conveying device 4 comprises: a lower transport level 4a, in which column pushers 9, 10 with containers 2 move over the buffer zone 3 in a buffer direction PR; an upper transport layer 4b, wherein the empty shuttle 7 is returned again in the direction opposite to the buffer direction PR and preferably upside down from the outfeed area 6 to the infeed area 5.

The initialization station 16 is preferably located in the area of the upper transport layer 4b and the route return point 17, at which point 17 the respective shuttle 7 is returned to zero during initial operation, after a predetermined number of buffer cycles and/or with each buffer cycle relative to the route return point 17, as far as a reference point for the subsequent travel of the route is concerned. As will be explained in detail by way of example in fig. 3, this serves to assign various route positions along the track 8 in order to initiate certain movement sequences of the shuttle 7 at said route positions.

Also schematically shown in the upper transport level 4b is an empty shuttle buffer 18, in which shuttle buffer 18 the previously emptied shuttle 7 is waiting for a new buffer cycle, for which purpose it is moved upwards one after the other in an automatic manner in a following operation, which will be explained below.

The column pusher 9, 10 preferably extends substantially over the entire width 3a of the buffer zone 3 and preferably has a width (transverse to the buffer direction PR) of 3m to 6m, in particular 4m to 5.5 m.

The drives 12 of the shuttles 7 are each independent of one another and may be, for example, linear motor drives or servo motors (not shown in detail) so that the individual shuttles 7 can be driven independently of one another at different speeds along the track 8.

Thus, the individual shuttles 7 can in principle be moved to any route position on the endless path defined by the rails 8 and positioned there, for example. To this end, the shuttles 7 can be accelerated and decelerated independently of each other. Certain operating modes of the shuttle 7 may also be initiated at certain route positions, for example an initialization operation for initializing and/or reading the shuttle 7, a following operation for moving a certain shuttle 7 forward in an automatic manner behind a previous shuttle 7, and a positioning operation for moving to a target position 19 predetermined by the open loop main controller 14 and the shuttle 7, as will be explained below with reference to fig. 3.

The distance between the various shuttles 7 can be changed by means of the control system 15, for example to traverse empty areas of the buffer 3. However, for example, when the shuttle 7 is moved towards the outfeed area 6 to the filling area of the buffer 3, the sequence of multiple shuttles 7 may alternatively be moved at a constant target distance 20 relative to each other. This is also shown schematically in fig. 3.

The shuttle 7 may be constructed as a wheel of a linear motor, the active components of which are thus preferably arranged on the rail 8. Thus, the shuttle 7 will thus be equipped with associated permanent magnets. As is known, in the case of long stators they form respective drives for the respective shuttles 7.

Alternatively, however, other drives 12 are also conceivable on the shuttle 7, for example a servomotor with a drive pinion which can run along a toothing formed along the rail 8 (neither shown). The chassis of the shuttle 7 may comprise guides and running rollers (not shown) interacting with the rails 8 in a known manner.

The driving energy may be transferred to the servo motor or similar drive 12 of the shuttle in a non-contact manner, i.e. without wires, as well as by means of sliding contacts or the like.

The shuttles 7 may also have energy storage, such as capacitors, batteries, etc., for their respective drives 12. In this way, for example, peaks in power consumption can be compensated when accelerating the shuttle 7, or the energy supply can be maintained in sections of the track 8 where it is not possible to supply permanent energy from a fixed energy source.

The data transmission in the control system 15 with respect to the shuttle 7 may be implemented by leaky waveguides and/or in a radio-enabled manner, for example by a wireless LAN.

Figure 3 schematically shows the motion profile of the shuttle 7 as it circulates on the track 8 (not shown in figure 2 for clarity). For this purpose, the forward speed V of the shuttle 7 is schematically shown as an orthogonal curve at a distance from the respective direction of movement of the shuttle 7 along the track 8.

Accordingly, the waiting empty shuttle 7 moves, for example, at the first target speed V1 to the feeding area 5, where it is accelerated to the second target speed V2 and decelerated such that the shuttle 7 is initially stationary above the feed conveyor 5b at the rear (viewed in the buffer direction PR). A single row of containers 2 is loaded at the infeed conveyor 5b to the respective pre-row pusher 9.

For subsequent movement to the forward (viewed in the buffer direction PR) feed conveyor 5a, the shuttle 7 is accelerated again to the second target speed V2 and then decelerated again to rest. A single column of containers 2 is loaded from the preceding infeed conveyor 5a to the post-column pusher 10.

The second target speed V2 is preferably greater than the first target speed V1, thereby speeding warehousing, and the second target speed V2 may be adapted to the transport speed of the arriving container stream, if desired.

It is also shown by way of example that at a first route position SP1 the shuttle 7 is in the area of the following infeed conveyor 5b and stops there, and at a second route position SP2 the shuttle 7 is in the area of the preceding infeed conveyor 5 a.

Both of the route positions SP1, SP2 are assigned the target position 19 by the open loop main controller 14. The target position 19 may be adjusted, for example, according to the container diameter. For example, when the diameter of the containers to be buffered decreases, the target position 19 can be moved in the buffering direction PR such that the advanced position of the guide channels 9c, 10c to be filled is aligned with the feed conveyors 5a, 5 b. It is also conceivable that the containers are only warehoused by one of the infeed conveyors 5a, 5b so as not to move to the first route position SP1 or the second route position SP2 and thus not to be allocated a target position 19 for the latter.

Such an adjustment of the respective target position 19 of certain route positions SP1, SP2 can in principle be adjusted by the control system 15 to any container characteristic and/or operating mode of the device 1.

Also schematically shown in fig. 3 are target distances 20 between successive shuttles 7 as the shuttles 7 move in the buffer zone 3 towards the outfeed area 6 and/or as the empty shuttles 7 move in the area of the empty shuttle buffer 18.

The target acceleration 21 and the target deceleration 22 are also shown only by way of example in the sense of an acceleration ramp and a deceleration ramp between the respective target speeds V1 to V4 and/or the stationary V0.

Different target accelerations 21 and/or target decelerations 22 may also be specified by the open-loop main controller 14 along the loop path. The target acceleration 21 and/or target deceleration 22 is typically based on container characteristics such as the height, weight, center of gravity, inclination angle, material, envelope, basic geometry, nominal fill level of the container 2 and/or various types of materials of the container and/or the coefficient of friction of the infeed conveyors 5a and 5b, the outfeed conveyor 6a, the buffer zone 3 and/or the conveyors upstream of the infeed conveyors 5a and 5 b/downstream of the outfeed conveyor 6 a.

Thus, it may be useful to specify a uniform target acceleration 21 and/or target deceleration 22 for a plurality of conveyor belts or to specify a target acceleration 21 and/or target deceleration 22 specifically adapted to the respective combination of container 2 and conveyor belt, for example depending on the type of container and the characteristics of the respective conveyor.

In particular, the target acceleration 21 and/or the target deceleration 22 can be specified by the open-loop master controller 14 in a flexible software-controlled manner and to the closed-loop slave controller 13 of the shuttle 7 in the sense of a parameterization of the respective motion sequence, depending on the characteristics of the particular type of container. The individual motion sequences are then adjusted in the closed-loop slave controller 13 of the shuttle 7 within a specified parameterized framework.

The two side rows of pushers 9, 10 (i.e. the front and rear rows of pushers) ensure that the containers 2/container rows 2a received by them can be handled and accurately positioned along the buffer direction PR and to a large extent that they do not tip over when the shuttle 7 is accelerated and decelerated.

However, it may be useful to limit the target acceleration 21 and/or target deceleration 22 of the shuttle 7 or to specify the target acceleration 21 and/or target deceleration 22 according to the container type, in order to avoid mechanically overloading the container 2 at the time of acceleration/deceleration.

The infeed conveyors 5a, 5b are preferably operated at a target speed VE and the outfeed conveyors are operated at a target speed VA. If the infeed conveyors 5a, 5b and/or the outfeed conveyor 6a require intermittent operation during warehousing/ex-warehousing, a target acceleration 23 and/or a target deceleration 24 is preferably prescribed for this purpose by the open-loop main controller 14. This also makes it possible to flexibly adapt the respective type of container and/or its material to be matched to the infeed conveyors 5a, 5b and/or the outfeed conveyor 6a in a software-controlled manner.

According to fig. 3, when the shuttles 7 are subsequently driven past the empty buffer area 3b of the buffer 3, they preferably again accelerate to the second target speed V2 and subsequently move to the buffer area 3c of the buffer 3 occupied by the shuttle 7 and decelerate to connect to the filled shuttle 7 already located there.

For this purpose, for example, the start of the occupied buffer zone 3c of the buffer zone 3 can be assigned a target position 19 by the open-loop main controller 14, since the filling of the buffer zone 3 is monitored by sensors and the open-loop main controller 14 receives information about where the occupied buffer zone 3c starts when the shuttle 7 arrives.

Thus, in the positioning operation 25 up to the route position SP3 at the transition from the empty buffer region 3b to the occupied buffer region 3c, the shuttle 7 travels through the empty buffer region 3b to the beginning of the occupied buffer region 3c, i.e. to the determined target position 19. The target position 19 substantially corresponds to the third route position SP 3. At the target position 19, the shuttle 7 changes from the positioning operation 25 to an automatic following operation 26, in which automatic following operation 26 the shuttle follows the corresponding preceding shuttle 7 while maintaining the target distance 20.

The following operation 26 is then maintained, for example, until the corresponding shuttle 7 reaches the outfeed area 6, the initial portion of the outfeed area 6 being allocated, for example, another target position 19. At this point, the shuttle 7 will switch back to the positioning operation 25 so as to move therewith to the fourth route position SP4, in which fourth route position SP4 the shuttle 7 stops to remove the container 2 from the associated column pusher 9, 10.

In the sense of parameterization of the closed-loop slave controller 13 of the shuttle 7, the target distance 20 may depend, for example, on the clear width 11 of the guidance channels 9c, 10c and be defined accordingly by the open-loop master controller 14. In the occupied buffer area 3c, the shuttle 7 is preferably moved toward the outfeed area 6, in particular in a stepwise manner, at a third target speed V3, while maintaining the target distance 20.

The third target speed V3 in the occupied buffer region 3c may be lower than the first target speed V1 in the feed region and the second target speed V2 in the empty buffer region 3 b.

To exit, the shuttle 7 is accelerated to, for example, a fourth target speed V4 and then decelerated to a stationary V0 above the associated exit conveyor 6 a. The outfeed conveyor 6a may be stationary there and then selectively accelerated to exit the warehouse, or may run continuously.

The column pushers 9, 10 may be positioned in alignment with the respectively associated conveying channel 6b, according to the drive of the outfeed conveyor belt 6 a. For example, the containers 2/container rows 2a can be selectively withdrawn from the guide channels 9c, 10c of the row pushers 9, 10 transversely to the buffer direction PR by means of a start-stop control of at least one outfeed conveyor belt 6a and then be associated with the respectively adjacently arranged conveying channel 6 b. An individually controllable/driven outfeed conveyor belt 6a will thus preferably be associated with each transport channel 6 b.

However, it is also conceivable to remove the containers 2 from the guide paths 9c, 10c by means of a continuously running outfeed conveyor 6a, by means of additional acceleration belts running side by side and/or by means of guide rails for merging the rows 6a of containers exiting from the guide paths 9c, 10 c.

The fourth target speed V4 in the tapping zone 6 may be, for example, greater than the third target speed V3 and lower than the second target speed V2.

The empty shuttle 7 may be driven to the end of the outfeed area 6, for example at a fourth speed V4, and decelerated there to a first speed V1, in order to finally drive the shuttle into the upper transport layer 4b along a curved section 8a of the track 8, wherein the curved section 8a is preferably configured as a clothoid (clothoid)8 a.

Then, in the sense that the shuttle 7 is changed from the positioning operation 25 to another target position 19 of the initialization operation 27, the shuttle 7 may be moved to the fifth route position SP5 in the positioning operation.

In an initialization operation 27, the shuttle 7 is zeroed, for example, with respect to the route zero point 17 and/or an electronic identification 28 is assigned by the open-loop master controller 14. In the initialization operation 27, information 29 relating to the time of the performed operation and/or the distance traveled by each shuttle and/or an indication of wear of each shuttle 7 may also be exchanged between the closed loop slave controller 13 and the open loop master controller 14 of the shuttle 7.

On this basis, the open-loop master controller 14 may issue, for example, operator recommendations to remove shuttles 7 that have been identified as worn or defective and/or to trigger automatic removal of such shuttles 7.

For this purpose, track switches, for example for discharging worn/defective shuttles 7 and/or for loading running shuttles 7, may be provided in the upper conveyor level 4 b.

The target position 19 for the start/exit positioning operation 25, the following operation 26 and the initialization operation 27 is transmitted from the open-loop master controller 14 to the closed-loop slave controller 13 of the shuttle 7 with associated control commands, so that the closed-loop slave controllers 13 each independently perform an associated motion pattern and a related data exchange can be performed between the open-loop master controller 14 and the closed-loop slave controller 13.

Preferably in a following operation 26, the shuttles 7 preferably pass through the empty shuttle buffers 18 in a direction opposite to the buffering direction PR, in an upside-down manner with respect to their alignment on the buffer 3.

The empty shuttle buffer 18 generally comprises a receiving buffer area 18a (i.e. an area not occupied by an empty shuttle 7) and a buffer area 18b occupied by an empty shuttle 7. For example, the unoccupied buffer zone 18a may traverse the positioning operation 25 at the second target speed V2. To move in the occupied buffer zone 18b, the empty shuttle 7 may again gradually accelerate to the third target speed V3 and decelerate to the stationary V0.

With the container 2/container column 2a positioned exactly in the guide channels 9c, 10c in the buffer direction PR and in the opposite direction thereto, the front and rear column pushers 9, 10 are able to bring the filled shuttle 7 to relatively high target speeds V1 to V4, while preventing the individual containers 2 of the container column 2a from tipping over under the associated target acceleration 21 and the associated target deceleration 22 of the shuttle 7.

Furthermore, during the assignment of the containers 2/container rows 2a to different conveying paths 6b or the like handling of the containers 2, for example on at least one outfeed conveyor belt 6a, the guide paths 9c, 10c facilitate precise warehousing and warehousing transversely to the buffer direction PR.

Fig. 4 schematically shows a control system 15 of the apparatus 1 having an open-loop master controller 14 and a closed-loop slave controller 13 (one of which is indicated by way of example only).

Accordingly, the infeed conveyors 5a, 5b are both driven at a target speed VE and the outfeed conveyor 6a is driven at a target speed VA. The target speeds V1 to V4 of the shuttle 7 are set and adjusted by the closed-loop slave controller 13 according to the target position 19, the target distance 20, and the target speeds V1 to V4.

Also shown is a database 31 in which measured values, material properties or similar parameters, for example for determining the target position 19, the target distance 20, the target accelerations 21 and 23, the target decelerations 22 and 24 and the target speeds V1 to V4, VE, VA, are stored. In particular, the database 31 contains the following information: maximum permissible values 32 for deceleration, acceleration and/or speed of containers 2 for a particular type of container and/or for the respective conveying surfaces of infeed conveyor 5a, outfeed conveyor 6a and buffer zone 3, respectively.

Such a maximum value 32 may be determined, for example, from measurements on containers 2 of respective types of containers in the container handling system or device 1 and stored in the database 31. The database 31 may also comprise data that does not directly depend on the container characteristics of the device 1 and/or on statistical evaluation of the processing results based on container types in previously commissioned container processing systems, i.e. data obtained outside the respective device 1 or container processing system.

Fig. 5 schematically shows how, for example, a maximum value of a parameter for calculating a target value can be obtained. Accordingly, for example, gap detection 33 between the incoming containers 2 is performed on the feeding conveyor 5a, and it is evaluated whether the containers 2 slide relative to each other when the feeding conveyor 5a decelerates. This means verifying whether the existing gap 34 between the containers 2 is reduced or increased. In case of a deceleration ramp, which may have a different steepness or the like between the feed velocity VE and the stationary V0, this may be done at different speeds of the feed conveyor belt 5 a. For example, the speed and/or acceleration 23 or deceleration 24 of the infeed conveyor 5a at which a certain type of container begins to slip relative to at least one adjacent container 2 may be determined therefrom.

This monitoring can be performed either in advance, for example before the device 1 is first used, or during operation. For example, the result may be an increased tendency of the containers 2 to slip, due to contamination of the feeding conveyor 5a, and the variation of the maximum speed and/or maximum deceleration of the feeding conveyor 5a thus determined under the current operating conditions.

The target speed VE of the feed conveyor 5a will thus be correspondingly reduced for reliable and trouble-free operation. On this basis, it can also be concluded that a possibly necessary cleaning of the infeed conveyor belt 5a is required, or that similar maintenance measures can be initiated.

The control system 15 enables to optimize the flexible handling of different types of containers with respect to the respective sequence of movements of the containers 2 on the infeed conveyor 5a, the outfeed conveyor 6a and while moving in the column pushers 9, 10 in the buffer direction PR.

Claims (15)

1. A method for buffering containers (2) grouped in single file in a container treatment system, in particular a filling system, wherein the containers are warehoused on at least one infeed conveyor (5a, 5b) in a feeding direction (ER), moved in single file on a laterally adjoining buffer zone (3) in a buffering direction (PR) transverse to the feeding direction (ER) by a track-guided and individually driven shuttle (7) having file pushers (9, 10), and are warehoused on at least one outfeed conveyor (6a) laterally adjoining in the buffering direction,

characterized in that the shuttle, the infeed conveyor and the outfeed conveyor are controlled according to a target position (19), a target speed (V1 to V4) and/or a target acceleration/deceleration (21, 22, 23, 24) specifically stored for the format and/or material storage of the containers, and/or the shuttle is controlled according to a target position (19), a target distance (20) and/or a target speed (V1 to V4) specifically stored for an initialization for reading in particular the shuttle, for following the preceding shuttle and for moving to a route position (SP1 to SP5) of the operating mode (25, 26, 27).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the maximum value (32) of deceleration and/or acceleration and/or speed of the infeed conveyor (5a) and/or the outfeed conveyor (6a) and/or the shuttle (7) is calculated from at least one of the following parameters specific to the type of containers to be processed and stored retrievably for a specific type of container: said parameters are height, weight, center of gravity, inclination angle, material, envelope curve, basic geometry, nominal filling level and/or material of the type of container, in particular taking into account at least one coefficient of friction of said in-feed conveyor, said out-feed conveyor, said buffer zone, a conveyor upstream of said in-feed conveyor and/or a conveyor downstream of said out-feed conveyor.

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the value of the parameter for calculating the maximum value (32) is preferably determined using measured values of the containers of the respective container type in the container handling system retrieved from a database (31) according to container characteristics and/or based on a statistical evaluation of the processing results of containers of that type in previously used container handling systems.

4. Method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the target positions (19), the target speeds (V1-V4), the target accelerations (21, 23) and/or the target decelerations (22, 24) of the shuttle (7), the infeed conveyor (5a) and the outfeed conveyor (6a) are preferably determined on the basis of the maximum value (32) and in particular compared with the target positions, target speeds, target accelerations and/or target decelerations for the containers in the upstream and/or downstream transport route and/or distribution unit of the containers (2).

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the difference between the target speed (V1-V4), the target acceleration (21, 23) and/or the target deceleration (22, 24) determined for the shuttle (7), the infeed conveyor (5a) and/or the outfeed conveyor (6a) and the target speed (V1-V4), the target acceleration (21, 23) and/or the target deceleration (22, 24) in an upstream and/or downstream transport route and/or distribution unit is reduced and in particular minimized by an adaptation specifically for the respective type of container.

6. Method according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shuttle (7) adjusts the speed of the shuttle (7) and/or the distance from each other and/or the movement towards the target position (19) specified for the shuttle according to the operating state transmitted to it by the open-loop master controller (14), preferably in a decentralized manner by itself, the operating state comprising: -at least one automatic initialization operation (27) to move to a route zero point (17) and/or to assign an electronic identification (28)/address to the shuttle, -a following operation (26) to move forward in an automatic manner behind a preceding shuttle, and-a positioning operation (25) to move to a target position (19) specified by the open-loop master controller.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that during an initial operation and/or after a predetermined number of buffer cycles, in particular after each buffer cycle, the shuttle (7) at one of the target positions (19) switches to the initialization operation (27) and in the initialization operation (27) is zeroed with respect to the route zero point (17) and/or an electronic identification (28) is assigned by the open-loop master controller (14).

8. A method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that in the initialization operation (27) information (29) is exchanged between the shuttles and the open loop master controller (14) about the time/distance travelled and/or wear indications for each shuttle (7) for the operation performed by each shuttle.

9. A method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the open loop main controller (14) in the initialization operation (27) also issues operator recommendations to remove shuttles (7) that have been identified as worn or defective and/or to trigger automatic removal of such shuttles.

10. Method according to any of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the open-loop master controller (14) transmits to the shuttle (7) a target position (19) for initiating/exiting the following operation (26) depending on the operating state and/or the fault state and/or the container characteristics, in particular comprising a continuous adaptation of the target position (19) to changes in the operating state, the fault state and/or the container characteristics.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the open-loop master controller (14) transmits to the shuttle (7) target positions (19) for starting/exiting the positioning operation (25) and/or target positions (19) of route positions (SP1 to SP5) to be moved in the positioning operation in dependence on operating states and/or fault states and/or container characteristics, in particular including a continuous adaptation of the target positions to changes in operating states, fault states and/or container characteristics.

12. An apparatus (1) for buffering containers (2), the containers (2) being grouped in a single train in a container handling system, in particular a filling system, the apparatus (1) comprising: a feeding zone having at least one feeding conveyor belt (5a, 5 b); an outfeed area having at least one outfeed conveyor belt (6 a); a buffer zone (3) extending transversely in a buffer direction (PR) between the feed zone and the discharge zone; and a transport system (4) which is arranged above the buffer zone (3), comprising shuttles (7) which are guided on rails (8) and which are driven independently of one another, the shuttles (7) having column pushers (9, 10) which are arranged transversely to the buffer direction and which appear in particular in pairs, the column pushers (9, 10) being used to move individual columns of the containers from the infeed region (5) to the outfeed region (6) in the buffer zone,

characterized in that the apparatus (1) further comprises a control system (15), the control system (15) being adapted to control the shuttle, the infeed conveyor and the outfeed conveyor in accordance with target positions (19), target speeds (V1 to V4) and/or target accelerations/target decelerations (21, 22, 23, 24) stored specifically for the format and/or material of the containers and/or to control the shuttle in accordance with target positions (19), target distances (20) and/or target speeds (V1 to V4) stored specifically for initialization for reading the shuttle, for following a preceding shuttle and for moving to a route position (SP1 to SP5) operating mode (25, 26, 27).

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the control system comprises: a closed loop slave controller (13) configured to the shuttle (7) for a drive (12) of the shuttle; and an open-loop master controller (14) for parameterization of the closed-loop slave controller specific to an operating mode of an operating state including at least one automatic initialization operation (27) for moving to a route zero point (17) and/or assigning an electronic identification (28)/address to the shuttle, a following operation (26) for moving the shuttle forward in an automatic manner behind a preceding shuttle, and a positioning operation (25) for moving to a route position (SP1 to SP5) specified by the open-loop master controller.

14. The arrangement according to claim 12 or 13, further comprising an initialization station (16) configured in the area of the transport system (4), the initialization station (16) being configured for zeroing the position of the shuttles (7) and/or for assigning an identification (28) issued by the open loop master controller (14) to the shuttles and/or for reading the operating time/distance traveled by the respective shuttles and/or wear indications for the respective shuttles of the open loop master controller.

15. Device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that the column pusher (9, 10) comprises guide channels (9c, 10c) extending transversely to the buffering direction and defined both along the buffering direction (PR) and in the opposite direction thereof, the guide channels each being intended to receive a single column of containers.

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